| Years Ten and Eleven |
| After Daphne had died, I spent about a year by myself. I hated talking to people, and spent my lunch hours at school alone. That�s when Blue decided to shake me into the real world. He started to follow me around more, and sleep my me when I watched TV. At lunch hours, he even started to follow me around on the playground. Ever since I can remember, he had always followed us to school, but when I was Ten, he started to play with me. Instead of looking for food from the other kids, or following my older sister around, he chose to find me. During class, I would look out the window, and there would be my Blue Boy, waiting for me. By then, Blue was Nine, not too old, but getting up there. Blue was a great example of protection in dogs. One year, he pinned the health inspector to the door at school because he didn�t know who he was. Blue was not a bad dog; in fact, he wouldn�t hurt a fly! There was just something about this guy, that Blue didn�t quite trust. He wouldn�t let him in the school (which was where my sisters and I were). The principal ended up calling my mom, and I can remember sitting in the office with her. I believe his exact words were � I love having Blue around, the kids love him, and he keeps the bears away, but I�m afraid he can�t be coming around the school anymore, and you�ll have to keep him at home.� Keep Blue at home? Was he serious? That dog wouldn�t stay away from us if his life depended on it! So there was poor old Blue Boy, stuck indoors while we were at school, and let me tell you, he didn�t like it. He would howl, and cry as soon as we left. When we got home, we always found him sitting at the front door, wagging his tail, acting as if he thought he�d never see us again. In year 1998, Jasper came into our lives. He was a Blue Merle Australian Shepherd crossed with Blue Healer, crossed with Labrador Retriever. He had the most amazing blue eyes, and grey multi-colored coat. This dog was defiantly a big teddy bear, and I mean BIG. I tried to teach him Dog Sledding, which he took to quite well. The thing about Jasper though, was that he practically lived at the neighbors. I never saw him very often, and he was only a year old when he died. However, I will never forget him, he was a really great dog. It was the early summer of 1999, and I was Twelve, and Blue was Eleven. It was just Blue and I in the house one afternoon after school, and I was looking out the window up stairs. I could hear Blue complaining from downstairs. I figured he probably wanted out, and was just about to let him go when I heard someone scream from out side. I let Blue out, and before I could even open the door full way, he was out the door. Running as fast as his legs could carry him. I immediately chased after him, and was led out onto the road. To my surprise, there was the neighbor�s dog Duke, circling around two little girls. The little girls were frightened, and I knew right away they were the ones screaming. Duke had his teeth bared, and the hackles on his back raised. I had never seen this side of Duke before, and was too stunned to think of what to do. That�s when Blue came to the rescue! He ran after Duke, and rammed him with his head, right into the ditch. I apologized to the girls, and asked if they were all right, then brought the dogs home. This behavior to this day amazes me. Blue understood that what Duke was doing was wrong, and he knew that he had to stop this. Never again do I think I will ever see this behavior play out between dogs, as long as I may live. There is no doubt in my mind that Blue knew what was going on, that he understood Duke was acting wrongfully. When we hear stories on TV about a dog warning their owner of a heart attack, or going to retrieve help, we think those dogs are truly amazing. However, never have I ever heard or a story where a dog actually turns on another dog to help a human. |
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